Laura Wilson
Laura Wilson, currently known as Persephone, is a teenage girl who became embroiled in the Recurrence when she befriended the god Lucifer. Obsessed with the Pantheon, she eventually achieved her dream of becoming a god herself. History Background Laura was born in late 1996, and lived with her parents in Brockley, South London. She came from a mixed race family and had a younger sister named Jenny. Laura's mother was into rave culture, and her father was once in a band in the 90s, but later became an electrician. Laura's interest in the Pantheon predated the 2010s Recurrence. She attended Ragnarock 2013 and argued with David Blake, as he claimed that the current generation was uninspired and didn't deserve a Recurrence, but Laura passionately disagreed. Meeting the Pantheon As the new Recurrence got underway, Laura became enthralled with the Pantheon and regularly attended their shows. By the end of 2013, she had seen Baal, Inanna, Sakhmet, Tara, Lucifer, Minerva, and several of Woden's Valkyries. She tried to hide this interest from her parents because she wanted it to be "all hers." On January 1, 2014, she attended a show by Amaterasu and met Lucifer afterwards, who invited her backstage. This made her a witness when gunmen opened fire on a group of gods, and she subsequently attended Lucifer's trial and witnessed the Judge Holmes murder. Laura mentioned Ananke, whose name she had overheard at the trial, in order to persuade Lucifer to let her visit. There, Lucifer offered to grant her divine powers in return for Laura's help freeing her. Laura went to Cassandra for help with investigating the other gods as suspects in the judge's murder. Laura attended a gig by The Morrigan and witnessed Baphomet acting violently, resulting in an argument with Badb that threatened to harm the crowd. Laura talked them into calming down and performing together instead. After the performance, the police arrived, and Laura witnessed Baphomet attacking a police officer, making him a suspect. However, The Morrigan gave him an alibi afterwards and offered to help Laura in the future. She was then arrested, resulting in an argument with her parents. Before Laura's investigation could continue, Ananke summoned her to a meeting with the Pantheon at Valhalla. Ananke and the other gods explained that Lucifer's behaviour put all of the gods at risk by scaring the public and that jail was the best place for her until the murderer revealed themselves. Laura was angry about their willingness to abandon Lucifer, but passed on the message anyway. After hearing Ananke's message, Lucifer grew angry and escaped from prison in spite of Laura asking her to stop. Lucifer revealed during the escape that the offer of divine powers was a lie to get Laura to help. Laura continued to follow her to try and talk her down, but could not get past the police barricade. When the other gods began attacking, Laura went to The Morrigan to ask for help. She managed to get Lucifer away from the other gods, and Lucifer thanked her, giving Laura her last cigarette. Ananke then killed Lucifer right in front of Laura. Laura gave an interview while still stained in Lucifer's blood, making her an instant celebrity. However, in spite of the fame, she sunk into a depression over Lucifer's death. One day, she imitated Lucifer, snapping her fingers as though to light the cigarette Lucifer gave her. To her surprise, the cigarette lit. After Lucifer's death Laura spent several months attempting to reproduce the miracle to no success, remaining reclusive until Inanna contacted her to ask for her help with investigating the events around Lucifer's death, believing that a fan of the Pantheon was involved. She then advertised herself to speak at cons, resulting in an engagement at Fantheon. There, she contacted Cassandra for help with her investigation. After the convention, Baphomet tricked Laura into attending a karaoke party with him and The Morrigan; she was initially reluctant to stay, but changed her mind when he said she needed company who understood what she was going through. She came further out of her shell by attending one of Dionysus's parties, resulting in her effectively joining the gods' social circle. In particular, she spent a lot of time with Inanna. The day that Urdr's incarnation took place, Laura sensed something was wrong and began crying without knowing why. However, when Urdr grew upset at Ragnarock 2014 because she felt the audience did not understand her performance, Laura comforted her and said she was glad for her. Becoming a god After the concert, Ananke approached Laura in order to discuss her disappointment that she was not one of the twelve gods. When Laura admitted that she still wanted to be part of the Pantheon, Ananke revealed that she was, unexpectedly, the thirteenth god. She then prompted her transformation into Persephone. Ananke invited Persephone to sing, and, while she was distracted, attempted to kill her using a miracle. However, she was stopped by Baphomet and Inanna, who had followed her there, having realised they were all being manipulated by Ananke. Ananke killed Inanna instead, and Baphomet escaped with Persephone to the Underground. While burning Inanna's body, Ananke was seen by Laura's parents and subsequently exploded the house, killing them and Laura's sister, who was asleep inside. The rest of the world were told Laura had died with them. Meanwhile, Persephone and Baphomet stayed hidden in the Underground, where Persephone sunk into a state of despair. Baphomet tried to cheer her up without much success. The two slept together, and Persephone admitted that they needed to do something. They therefore developed a plan to rescue The Morrigan, who had been kidnapped by the other gods, and take down Ananke. Opposing Ananke On 9 September 2014, a barman in Highbury & Islington received a phone call from Persephone, requesting to book the place for a gig. She performed there two weeks later, attracting public attention as a new god. This caused Ananke, Sakhmet, Woden and the Valkyries to arrive and attack her, but they were no match for her in battle. The battle was actually a diversion so Baphomet could break into Valhalla and rescue The Morrigan, but they didn't manage to get out in time, having decided to take Minerva with them. Persephone therefore broke into Valhalla herself and took them all down into the Underground. Persephone reunited with Dionysus when Baphomet brought him into the Underground. She told him her story, and although he didn't know what to make of it at first, he was reassured by the other gods' belief in her. However, they were then attacked by Ananke's faction and battle broke out. Ananke's group kidnapped Minerva and left, leaving Minerva's mechanical owl behind. On this, they found unwatched footage of Ananke confessing that she intended to kill Minerva as part of a ritual. Persephone declared that they would do "whatever's necessary" to stop her. She contacted Urdr and asked her to participate in their attack on Valhalla, but she refused. As battle broke out, Persephone fought Ananke's forces, including an even more weaponised version of the Valkyries. However, the battle was disrupted by Urdr, who persuaded both sides to calm down and check on Minerva. They found that Ananke was indeed attempting to sacrifice her, and united to fight against her. Persephone captured her in her vines and confronted her about all the deaths she had caused, forcing her to admit that she had been killing gods for thousands of years. Although Urdr wanted to keep Ananke locked up in a cage, Persephone disagreed, wanting her to pay for her crimes with death. Baal convinced her to back down, telling her it was not what her parents or Inanna would have wanted. Persephone seemed to be swayed by this argument, but then recalled her sister Jenny, who had been killed in the explosion at her house, and whose wishes on the matter she would never know. She killed Ananke in a fit of rage, violently exploding her body. The other gods were horror-struck by this, but agreed that they would call it self-defence to protect her from jail. Persephone then proclaimed that they could do "whatever they want." Appearance As Laura= Laura is a mixed-race girl with wavy brown hair, green eyes, and freckles. Initially, the ends of her hair were dip-dyed green, but after Lucifer's death, she cut her hair shorter to remove the green tips. Laura dressed like a typical London teenager, though she would often mimic the style of the gods when attending their concerts. |-|As Persephone= Persephone has turquoise hair with a white streak and wears a triangle of red face paint across one eye. Her clothes are black and red and decorated with skulls and flowers. Her eyes turn black with skulls in them when performing. She has a septum piercing and wears a lot of jewellery. Personality Laura was obsessed with the gods of the Recurrence and wanted more than anything to be one of them. She planned to fail her A-levels and drop out of school, because she believed her only future was with the gods. She frequently became starstruck around the gods, although she tried to play it cool. She initially had a very idealistic view of the gods, but she was disgusted and angered by the thought that one of the gods had framed Lucifer for murder. Laura is brave, passionate, and quick-thinking, and she is able to handle herself well in a crisis. Since becoming a god, she has become considerably more vengeful. Relationships Lucifer Lucifer was the first god Laura interacted with, and so was her entry point into the lives of the Pantheon. Lucifer began flirting with her after one of Amaterasu's concerts, and Laura soon became passionately determined to find who framed her for the Judge Holmes murder. Even though Lucifer was sometimes dismissive of her, Laura remained convinced of her innocence and genuinely cared about Luci's well-being, causing Lucifer to describe her as having "too much faith". Lucifer's death had a profound effect on Laura, and she stopped communing with the gods for some time afterwards. Cassandra Cassandra helped Laura investigate the judge's murder. Although she was occasionally dismissive of Laura's fannishness, the two gradually became friends. Parents Laura's parents were mostly kept in the dark about her involvement with the Pantheon. They were concerned by Laura's secretive and sometimes law-breaking behaviour, but did little to prevent her from continuing it, for which she accused them of not caring enough. However, when Laura was in trouble, they tried to support her and keep her away from the press. Inanna Laura quickly became best friends with Inanna when he recruited her to gather information about the shooting. He often comforted her about her grief over Lucifer's death and her sadness about not being one of the Pantheon. Laura eagerly anticipated Inanna's reaction to her transformation into Persephone, and was devastated when he was killed. Ananke Laura wanted revenge on Ananke for trying to kill her and succeeding in killing her parents. Ananke told the other gods that she is 'The Destroyer', turning them against her. Baphomet Baphomet was one of the first gods Laura came into contact with after her incarnation. They slept together, an action Laura admitted was a mistake. They then worked together against Ananke. Minerva Minerva joined Laura once she discovered the crimes Ananke had committed. They became allies against Ananke. The Morrigan Laura and The Morrigan are allies, united by their hatred for Ananke. However, The Morrigan is unaware that Laura slept with her lover, Baphomet. Other relationships Laura described herself as having no friends whom she considered relevant. Powers As an underworld god, Persephone has the ability to escape to the Underground, where she can evade the detection of non-underworld gods. She can summon giant flowery vines that burst out of the ground and are capable of smashing through the walls of Valhalla. She has overpowered Sakhmet, Ananke, Woden and the Valkyries in battle. She is also able to show people past events. Mythology Laura's godly identity is based on Persephone, the Greek goddess of springtime, death and rebirth. Persephone causes the seasons by travelling between the Earth and the land of the dead; when she is in the underworld, her mother's grief causes winter. She was famously abducted by Hades, who tricked her into remaining in the underworld for six months of the year by giving her pomegranate seeds to eat. Persephone translates to "she who destroys".Issue 22 Quotes About Laura Dialogue }} Trivia *Laura's name originated from the song "Laura" by Bat for Lashes.Writer Notes: The Wicked + The Divine #1 *Laura's design originated from the look of the girls on the bus near Kieron Gillen's home.Writer Notes: The Wicked + The Divine #1 *Influences on Persephone's appearance include Sky Ferreira, MIA, Siouxsie Sioux and FKA Twigs.Writer Notes: The Wicked + The Divine #11 *Persephone's fighting style is inspired by American ballet dancer Misty Copeland.Writer Notes: The Wicked + the Divine #18 *Kieron Gillen has described Laura as one of the hardest characters to write, saying that, "With her, I lose so many of the easy tricks, the things I’m good at. I often write her badly, and re-write and re-write until it’s there. It’s rarely enjoyable, the moments when I smile in pleasure rather than empathy so rare. She is the train that crashes my heart."WicDiv Challenge Day 13 - Tumblr Appearances References Category:Gods Category:Humans